1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to evaporative coolers, and more particularly, but not exclusively, to a portable device for draining water from a roof-mounted evaporative cooler without permitting the water to contact the roof.
2. Description of Related Art
In the evaporative air-conditioning industry, it is customary to operate evaporative coolers with hard water. The hard water evaporates and is circulated into homes and buildings by a blower. As a result, salts and other hard-water deposits accumulate throughout the interior of the cooler, within the filter pads, and in the water pan. Although some of the hard water elements are transported into the air flow along with the evaporated water, a portion of the hard water elements remains in the cooler to clog the filter pads and accumulate in the pan. The water in the pan therefore contains a much higher concentration of salts and other hard-water deposits than normal hard water.
When cleaning and servicing a roof-mounted evaporative cooler, users will remove the salts and other hard-water deposits from the cooler by changing the filter pads and draining the water from the pan directly onto the roof. The discarded water simply runs across the roof and over the edge, and is received in a rain gutter if there is one. Conscientious users might also rinse out the water pan to remove remaining debris and hard-water deposits, letting the rinse water and remaining hard-water deposits drain onto the roof as well.
Applicant has observed that the practice of draining the water from the pan directly onto the roof, with the higher concentration of hard-water salts and debris in the drainage water, has proven to be severely damaging to the roof, particularly to shingled roofs. Even in cases where the evaporative cooler is drained onto the roof only once per year, corrosion to the shingles is quite severe and noticeable. This insight is significant since, to applicant's knowledge, others have failed to identify it or make it known.
More specifically, it continues to be assumed by many, if not all, that roof corrosion is caused solely by a leak in the cooler's water pan, or by overflow from the pan through failure to properly adjust the water level controller. While such occurrences certainly cause and hasten roof corrosion, applicant has discovered that roof corrosion continues to occur even in the absence of leaks or overflow problems. Applicant has therefore provided a significant insight into the cause of roof corrosion by identifying the fact that simply draining the water pan onto the roof once per year can damage the roof.
Accordingly, some of the prior art focus has been misplaced. In an effort to reduce the effects of hard water salts and deposits, attempts have been made in the prior art to reduce the rate of accumulation of hard water debris within the cooler. For example, it is known to divert some of the hard water from the cooler in a "bleed-off" system for reducing accumulation of hard-water debris. U.S. Pat. No. 4,562,016 (granted Dec. 31, 1985 to Colliver) discloses an evaporative air-conditioner water bleed-off system. U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,950 (granted May 5, 1998 to Villanueva) teaches an improvement in an overflow drain line, for controlling the overflow water in an evaporative cooler in a manner that prevents discoloration of and damage to the roof.
Despite the advantages of the evaporative cooler bleed-off systems and overflow tubes, the problem identified by applicant remains unsolved. In the attempted solutions referenced above, the water pan in roof-mounted evaporative coolers is still drained directly onto the roof. This still operates to cause some damage and corrosion to the roof even though the concentration of hard water elements in the drained water has been reduced through bleed off.
The prior art is thus characterized by several disadvantages that are addressed by the present invention. The present invention minimizes, and in some aspects eliminates, the above and other problems by provision of a channeling device that prevents the water from the water pan from contacting the roof while it is being drained from a roof-mounted evaporative cooler. Applicant's insight in identifying the problem as explained above, and providing a simple solution therefor, illustrates the failure of others to identify the problem, as well as surprising results, given the simplicity of the invention and the roof damage it prevents. It is indeed surprising that corrosion of a shingled roof can be prevented by simply channeling the drainage water from an evaporative cooler away from the roof.